The inaugural ceremony on Jan. 20 will include a song from Aretha Franklin, an invocation by Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren and a performance by musicians Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman, the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies has announced.

There will be a poem from Elizabeth Alexander, a poet, essayist, playwright, and teacher," the committee notes. "She is the author of four books and was a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize," and is a professor at Yale. Her website is here. Among her poems is Race.

Update at 5 p.m.: People For The American Way, a civil liberties group, calls Warren's role on the program "a grave disappointment."

PFAW president Kathryn Kolbert said Warren enjoys "a reputation as a moderate based on his affable personality and his church's engagement on issues like AIDS in Africa," but has said that "the real difference between (Christian conservative) James Dobson and himself is one of tone rather than substance."

Among other things, Kolbert said, Warren opposes abortion and "recently compared marriage by loving and committed same-sex couples to incest and pedophilia." Click here to read her full statement.

At the other end of the spectrum, Christian Broadcasting Network blogger David Brody says Warren and Obama see eye to eye on many social justice issues. He called the move "classic Obama because it is a signal to religious conservatives that he’s willing to bring in both sides to the faith discussion in this country."

Update at 9:20 p.m. ET: The Human Rights Campaign, a gay-rights group, also is protesting the Warren invitation. In a letter to Obama, the group calls it "a genuine blow" that raises questions about whether gay people will be heard in his administration.

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About Catalina Camia

Catalina Camia leads the OnPolitics online community and has been at USA TODAY since 2005. She has been a reporter or editor covering politics and Congress for two decades, including stints at The Dallas Morning News and Congressional Quarterly. Follow her at @USATOnPolitics.